The Electric Guitar

Question 1

What did electric guitars start life as?

Answer 1

Amplified acoustic guitars

Question 2

Early electric guitars had a hollow body. What problem did this lead to?

Answer 2

Feedback when amplification was turned up

Question 3

What do guitars use to convert the vibrations of the strings into an electrical signal?

Answer 3

Pickups

Question 4

What are the two main types of pickups?

Answer 4

Single-coil and Humbucker

Question 5

What are single-coil pickups more susceptible to?

Answer 5

Interference and hum, but produce a brighter, more cutting sound

Question 6

How do Humbucker pickups reduce interference and hum?

Answer 6

They use two coils of opposite magnetic and electric polarity; electromagnetic noise hitting both coils cancels itself out

Question 7

On an electric guitar, what does a tremolo arm do?

Answer 7

Allows the player to adjust the pitch of the strings

Question 8

What would be a more suitable name for a tremolo arm, as the effect it produces is really a modulation in pitch?

Answer 8

Vibrato arm

Question 9

With regards to an electric guitar tremolo arm, why were locking nut and Floyd Rose tremolo systems introduced?

Answer 9

To reduce the effect the tremolo arm has on the overall tuning of the guitar